Salmonellosis in the EU 2020
Salmonellosis was the second most commonly reported foodborne gastrointestinal infection in humans after campylobacteriosis and was an important cause of foodborne outbreaks in EU MS and non-MS countries.
In 2020, Salmonella reporting recorded the lowest number of human cases since 2007, when salmonellosis surveillance started, owing to the impacts of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU on the one hand and the COVID-19 pandemic on the other hand.
In 2020, the number of confirmed cases of human salmonellosis was 52,702, corresponding to an EU notification rate of 13.7 per 100,000 population. This was a decrease of 29.7% and 32.8% compared with the rate in 2019 (19.5 and 20.4 per 100,000 population) with and without the 2019 data from the United Kingdom, respectively.
The proportion of hospitalised cases was 29.9%, with an EU case fatality rate of 0.19%. The top five Salmonella serovars involved in human infections overall were distributed as follows: S. Enteritidis (48.7%), S. Typhimurium (12.4%), monophasic S. Typhimurium (1,4, [5],12:i:-) (11.1%), S. Infantis (2.5%) and S. Derby (1.2%).
In total, 694 foodborne outbreaks of Salmonella were reported by 22 MS in 2020, causing 3,686 illnesses, 812 hospitalisations and seven deaths. Salmonella caused 22.5% of all foodborne outbreaks in 2020. The majority (57.9%) of the reported foodborne outbreaks of Salmonella were caused by S. Enteritidis. The three food vehicles most commonly involved instrong-evidence foodborne salmonellosis outbreaks were ‘eggs and egg products’, followed by‘pig meat and products thereof’ and ‘bakery products’.
Carcases of broilers (slaughterhouse): the overall proportion of Salmonella-positive samples based on official controls was 15%.
Flocks of laying hens: Salmonella was found in 1,389 or 4.0% of flocks, compared with 1,529 or 3.9% in 2019. The EU prevalence of laying hen flocks that were positive for either of the two target serovars was 1.3%. Salmonella was found in 1,389 or 4.0% of flocks, compared with 1,529 or 3.9% in 2019. The EU prevalence of laying hen flocks that were positive for either of the two target serovars was 1.3%.
